Sim racing is booming, with more and more people getting into properly authentic racing games that let them truly pit their driving skills against others online, or AI racers that can be just as hard to beat. The downside for many people, though, is that it can be a huge pain to set up a sim system at home, with pedals and a wheel.
Playseat's been making that easier for a little while, with setups that can be folded down (like a buggy) to become way smaller for storage, but its new setup is probably the sleekest and most attractive option I've seen yet.
The Playseat Challenge DD F1 Edition will go on sale in January 2026, for £349 / €399 / $399, and marks a subtle but important change compared to the standard Challenge DD, shifting your sitting position to be exactly reflective of real-life F1 racing. That means you can load up your Formula 1 racing sim of choice (which is probably F1 25), hook everything up and truly get into the game.
Plus, of course, you still get that folding system to make it much easier to store, ensuring you don't need to have a permanent sim racing room for it to make any sense at all.
This doesn't mean you'll have the same home setup that someone like Max Verstappen can turn to when he needs to practice a track, but it's close enough at a relatively reasonable cost that it's hard to be too down on it.
Plus, to be honest, the white-and-red livery that the seat's been given is really attractive, and again makes it one of the nicest-looking options that Playseat's made.
Of course, £350 is still a big chunk to spend on a racing seat like this, so there's no doubt that this remains a niche product. With high-end racing getting so popular, though, largely thanks to racers like Verstappen being open about how useful it is, this could end up being a really well-liked new option.
